SOM moves up in annual business school ratings

The Yale School of Management is moving up in the business world, according to the Economist and BusinessWeek.

Last week the two magazines released their rankings of business schools around the world, with the SOM raising its standing in both surveys. The school placed 10th in the Economist’s rankings and moved from 19th to 14th place in the BusinessWeek survey.

“We are not doing anything different. We have never managed the school with the ratings in mind,” SOM Dean Jeffery Garten said in an e-mail. “Our focus remains as it has always been: get the world’s best students, recruit the world’s best faculty, those who do cutting edge research and bring that into the classroom; and do everything we can to create the world’s best learning environment.”

Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management placed first in both sets of rankings. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business placed fifth in BusinessWeek’s rankings and 14th in the Economist’s version. Harvard Business School placed third in BusinessWeek and 12th in the Economist.

Although the SOM does not tailor its curriculum to rankings, Alexander LePage SOM ’04 said in an e-mail that they are important to prospective applicants.

“The ranking definitely was a consideration for me when I was applying,” LePage said. “I do feel that our ability to attract certain firms to recruit is largely based on these rankings, and I think the increase in rank will allow the SOM to continue to recruit the most talented students and professionals.”

LePage said he considered attending multiple business schools — including Kellogg and Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business — before eventually choosing the SOM.

Garten said although the rankings do affect the SOM’s reputation, the school’s focus is building a solid foundation for the future.

“There is no denying that rankings influence public perceptions of a school,” Garten said. “But being a young school, we are focused on the long term strategy of becoming the world’s great center for learning when it comes to management and leadership of organizations, utilizing business principles.”

The Economist’s ranking of the “100 best full-time MBA programs” is based on several criteria, including student and alumni assessments, quality of faculty and job search success.

The BusinessWeek rankings, which are published every other year, are primarily based on a poll that includes responses from students, alumni and recruiters. The survey also takes “intellectual capital” into account by evaluating the scholarship of faculty members.